ʿĀṣim ibn Kulayb transmitted from his father, who said:
“We came to ʿAlī—may Allah be pleased with him—and he mentioned ʿĀʾishah, saying, ‘She is the intimate friend of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.’

This is a fair (ḥasan) hadith.

As for Musʿab, he is ṣāliḥ—an acceptable narrator; there is nothing objectionable about him. Notice that the Commander of the Believers uttered this praise of ʿĀʾishah despite what had transpired between them—may Allah be pleased with them both. There is no doubt that ʿĀʾishah later felt profound remorse for her march to Basrah, for her presence on the Day of the Camel, and for the unforeseen turn events took.

ʿUmārah ibn ʿUmayr related—from someone who heard ʿĀʾishah—that whenever she recited, “And stay quietly in your homes” (al-Aḥzāb 33), she would weep until her head-cover was soaked.⦗1⦘

Imām Aḥmad recorded in his Musnad: Yaḥyā al-Qaṭṭān narrated to us, from Ismāʿīl; Qays narrated to us, saying:
“When ʿĀʾishah was returning and reached the watering places of Banū ʿĀmir by night, the dogs began to bark.

She asked, ‘What water is this?’

They replied, ‘The waters of al-Ḥawʾab.’

She said, ‘In that case, I think I must turn back.’

Someone accompanying her said, ‘Rather, go forward, so the Muslims may see you and Allah may reconcile their affairs.’

She answered, ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ once said: “What will be the state of one of you when the dogs of al-Ḥawʾab bark at her?”’⦗2⦘